Preparing a Proposal

EE 494 Capstone Group Design Project

Preparing a Proposal

EE 494Capstone Group Design Project

Prof. [email protected]


Proposal RequirementsA proposal provides sufficient information to persuade

the reviewer that the proposed work represents an innovative and profitable approach to an important

engineering problem.

The proposal will be evaluated on– the technical approach having a reasonable chance of

meeting the topic objective, – the approach being innovative, not routine,– the proposer’s capability to implement the technical

approach, i.e. has or can obtain people and equipment suitable for the task.


Proposal Table of Contents• Cover page• Abstract• Technical Content

– Identification and Significance of Problem– Technical Background– Technical Objectives– Work Plan

• Statement of Work, Time Line and Deliverables– Related Work

• Commercialization Strategy (EE402 optional)• Key personnel• Facilities and Equipment• Subcontractors and Consultants• Cost Proposal (Budget)


Proposal Format• Proposal Cover Sheet

– Title of project– Date proposed– Label it as a “Proposal”– “Submitted to:” name, address, phone, fax, e-mail– “Submitted by:” (as above)

• “Abstract” – Give an abstract of the proposed project. Discuss

anticipated benefits, potential for commercial applications and profit. The Abstract is often the first cut in selecting proposals for funding


Proposal Format (con’d)• Layout and Format

– Use 1” margins all around– Place name of group in header left– Title in header right– Page number in footer center– Date in footer right– Use Arial 10 pt or Times 12 point

• Number all pages consecutively. – The technical proposal begins on page 2 or 3.

• Submit softcopy in MSWord (.doc) or Adobe (.pdf)


Technical Content• “Identification and Significance of Problem or

Opportunity”– Define the specific technical problem or opportunity addressed

and its importance to the company, customer, government, etc.(Know your audience.)

– Do Not include the solution in the problem statement• “Technical Background” (optional)

– Provide a short technical primer if you think the readers requires such

• “Technical Objectives”– List your objectives to solve the problem

• Distinguish between goals, objectives and tasks– Include questions the work will try to answer


Technical Content (con’d)• “Work Plan”

– This is a substantial portion of the total proposal.– Give short overview of what is planned and work approach – Provide an explicit, step-by-step description of the approach:

• “Statement of Work” (SOW)– provide hierarchical detailed list of tasks

• “Time Line” – Show estimated start and stop times for Tasks– Only show the first and second levels of Tasks– Numbering follows the SOW tasks

• see following examples– Describe how and where the work will be carried out– Use the SOW and time line for weekly/monthly updates.


Example Task List (SOW)1.0. Circuit partitioning for power and control 1.1. Evaluate present company ballast designs for Sub-Miniature Dimming Ballast (SMDB) 1.1.1. Establish benchmark and performance parameters for lower power operation. 1.1.2. Investigate separating starter and continuous-power lamp drive functions. 1.2. Develop alternate electrical and packaging approaches (include power and signal ASICs) 1.2.1. Evaluate resonant transition, hard switching and class-E electrical topologies 1.2.2. Evaluate higher frequency effects on substrate technologies 1.3. Evaluate Digital Communications 1.3.1. Evaluate IR transmit/receive size reduced circuits for applications to CFL2.0. Select SMDB product approach 2.1. Develop SMDB product profile 2.1.1. Review present fixtures forms 2.1.2. Determine fixture constraints on physical SMDB product form 2.2. Assess which topology would be the best for this market place. 2.2.1. Perform electrical and physical modeling, design and simulation with proprietary tools 2.2.1.1. Determine optimum inductor / transformer specifications 2.2.2. Perform thermal design and simulation 2.2.3. Perform cost tradeoff analysis to determine least expensive approach 2.3. Documentation 2.3.1. Develop CAD level documentation3.0. Prototype Design and Evaluation 3.1. Select contract manufacturer for circuits 3.1.1. Survey NYS companies as first and second source suppliers


Example Time LineWeeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.0 Circuit partitioning for power and control1.1. Evaluate present ballast RED: PLANNED

BLUE: ACTUAL1.2. Develop alternate approaches

1.3. Evaluate Digital Communications

2.0 Select SMDB product approach

2.1. Develop SMDB product profile

2.2. Assess best

2.3. Documentation

3.0 Prototype Design and Evaluation3.1. Select contract manufacturer for circuits

3.2. Build 100 SMDB prototype circuits

3.3. Define mechanical package

3.4. Evaluate prototype products

3.5. Establish pre-beta product


Technical Content (con’d)• “Deliverables”

– Describe expected outcomes of the proposed work or what product(s) will be delivered

– This is often one of the most important sections– (Think big picture and value of your deliverable)

• “Related Work”– Describe significant activities by group members directly

related to the proposed effort and how these activities interface with the proposed project

– Describe the state-of-the-art and compare the proposed effort. The reviewer must be persuaded of the proposer's awareness of the state-of-the-art in the specific topic.

• End Technical Content Section


Commercialization Strategy (optional)• Describe your strategy for potential

commercialization of the deliverable(s)• Provide information on the market need the product

will address and the size of the market. – What is the first application of your product?– Who will be your customers– What is your estimate of the market size (mkt sales $/year)?– How much money will you need to bring the product to

market– Who are your competitors– What is your advantage over your competitors?


Key Personnel• Identify key personnel who will be involved• Include information on directly related education and

experience. • A concise resume of the primary contributors


Facilities and Equipment• Describe available instrumentation and physical

facilities necessary to carry out the effort. • Items of equipment to be purchased (as detailed in

the cost proposal) shall be justified• State whether or not the facilities need modifications

to meet environmental laws and regulations of federal, state, and local Governments for, but not limited to, the following groupings: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials. (For EE402 – assume they no modifications are needed)


Subcontractors and ConsultantsInvolvement of subcontractors or consultants may be

appropriate• If such involvement is intended, it should be

described in detail and identified in the cost proposal. • A minimum of two-thirds of the effort, as measured by

direct and indirect costs, must be carried out by the proposing group, unless otherwise approved


Cost Proposal(See Example Budget Form)

• Sufficient information should be provided to understand how the proposer plans to use the requested funds

• List all key personnel by name and number of hours dedicated to the project as direct labor.

• Justify special tooling, test equipment and materials• Cost for travel funds must be justified and related to the

needs of the project.• Cost sharing is permitted.


Example Budget FormPage: 1 of 1

Contractor: ABC Address:

Elicott, New York 14260Location (where work is to be performed): Agency funding: 75,847$

(same) Total Project Cost: 189,617$ Total Cost Cost to Cost-sharing &

Cost Element to Project Agency Co-funding(% sharing): 40% 60%

1. Direct Materials a. Purchased Parts $25,000 $10,000 $15,000 b. Other $0 $0 $0 Total Direct Materials $25,000 $10,000 $15,000

2. Materials Overhead Rate: 10% $2,500 $1,000 $1,500

3. Direct Labor Hours Rate/hrSr. Electrical Design 312 56 $17,472 $6,989 $10,483Card Design 30 29 $870 $348 $522Electrical fabricate &Test 104 36 $3,744 $1,498 $2,246Mechanical fabricate 78 32 $2,496 $998 $1,498Reliability testing 0 36 $0 $0 $0 Total Direct Labor $24,582 $9,833 $14,749

4. Labor Overhead Rate % 13% (f ringe benef its) Base (3) $3,196 $1,278 $1,917

Perimter Road, WestBuilding

Contract Pricing Proposal Form Name of Proposed Project:"Development and Commercialization of Power Line Carrier Controlled Fluorescent Lighting Systems"

5. Outside Special Testing $0 $0 $0

6. Equipment $5,000 $2,000 $3,000

7. Travel $1,500 $600 $900

8. Other Direct Costs $0 $0 $0

9. Subcontractors/ConsultantsHours Rate/hr

Contract Mfg. (TBD) $64,000 $25,600 $38,400Consultant - Prof. Hopkins 104 130 $13,520 $5,408 $8,112Consultant - Mech. Eng. 40 100 $4,000 $1,600 $2,400SUNY Buffalo $0 $0 $0 Total Subcontractors/Consultants $81,520 $32,608 $48,912

10. G&A Expense Rate % 40% (General & Administrative) Base (3-9) $46,319 $18,528 $27,791

11. Fee or Profit Rate: 0% (0 for cost-sharing) $0 $0 $012. Total Estimated Project Cost $189,617 $75,847 $113,770This proposal ref lects our best estimates as of this date, in accordance w ith the instructions to proposers.Typed Name and Title: Signature: Date:

January 1, 2004

From New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposal requirements. See http://www.nyserda.org/791attd.pdf


End of “Preparing a Proposal”

Preparing a Proposal

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